The Unknown Country is a 2022 American drama film directed by Morrisa Maltz, from a screenplay by Maltz and a story by Maltz, Lily Gladstone, Lainey Bearkiller Shangreaux, and Vanara Taing. It stars Gladstone and Raymond Lee.
The film had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 13, 2022. It was theatrically released by Music Box Films in the United States on July 28, 2023. For her work, Gladstone won the Gotham Independent Film Award for Outstanding Lead Performance.
A standalone sequel, Jazzy, was released in February 2025.
Contents
Plot
A grieving woman embarks on a road trip through the American Midwest after receiving an unexpected invitation to reunite with her estranged Oglala Lakota family.
Cast
Lily Gladstone as Tana
Raymond Lee as Isaac
Richard Ray Whitman as Grandpa August
Lainey Bearkiller Shangreaux as Lainey
Devin Shangreaux as Devin
Jasmine Bearkiller Shangreaux as Jazzy
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 92% of 50 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "Lily Gladstone's outstanding performances powers The Unknown Country through some narrative drift to its ultimately profound destination." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 82 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".